An Inquiry
by Ashuuchan
Summary: What starts off as a mere inquiry about Shino's clothing, turns into something unexpected. A 100% fluffy oneshot, with Akamaru being the catalyst! Shino/Kiba.


A/N: First Naruto story, under this name at least. Featuring one of my favorite pairings, Shino and Kiba!

Beware, this oneshot contains mass amounts of fluff. You have been warned! Enjoy!

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An Inquiry

"Okay, now, hop one one foot. There! Good boy!"

"Woof!" Akamaru barked happily, once performing the trick correctly.

"Hn, very nice," Shino noted out loud, observing as Kiba showed him the newest tricks he had trained Akamaru to do.

"Hehe," Kiba grinned at his melancholy friend. "He's so talented, isn't he?" Kiba gushed, as he praised and petted his canine partner.

"He's pretty smart," Shino agreed. He grinned at his exuberant friend, a smile of which was blocked off due to his coats high collar.

Kiba smiled back thoughtfully at Shino for a moment, before shifting his weight to lean against a nearby fence and cocking his head at Shino.

Shino blinked. "What?"

Kiba shrugged. "I was just wondering something."

"What would that be?" Shino inquired, raising an eyebrow. Akamaru wandered over to the quieter boys' foot, nudging it in an attempt to get attention. Shino stared at the dog.

"It's about your clothes."

Shino looked back upwards right away. "...Huh?" was all he could come up with at the moment.

Kiba shifted his weight from the fence again and walked the few steps between himself and Shino. "I was wondering..." he drifted off, lifting a hand and hooking a finger inside Shino's collar, "Why you have such a high collar on your coat. It's bad enough I can't see your eyes, but I can never tell if you're smiling or frowning, either." Kiba tugged the collar down a few inches to view Shino's mouth, which was pressed into a thin line of alarm at the sudden change in conversation.

Shino stared uncomfortably at Kiba, who just raised his eyebrows in expectance of a coherent answer."Uh... uhh..." Shino murmered, feeling his cheeks turn slightly warm. Kiba grinned as he watched his usually reserved friend squirm.

"Well?"

Shino swallowed and blinked a few times, in attempt to compose himself. "Well, I could always ask _you_," Shino replied, lifting his own hand to the top of Kiba's hood, and gripping it, "why you always have your coats' hood pulled up." Shino pulled the hood off Kiba's head and lowered it to the base of the others neck, still holding onto it.

Kiba's eyes widened, caught off guard. Shino grinned triumphantly at succeeding to surprise his friend.

"I... um..." Kiba faltered, swallowing and staring back at Shino.

"Woof! Woof woof!" Akamaru's bark sounded from far away.

Still clinging to each others' coats, the two boys turned their heads in the direction of Akamaru's bark.

"Akamaru!" Kiba called, releasing Shino's collar and bringing both hands to his mouth to amplify his holler. "Hey!" he shouted. Shino released hold of Kiba's hood in return, staring in the direction of Akamaru.

"Woof!" Akamaru's bark came, further still from the ears of Kiba and Shino. The sound of the dog was coming from the forest, about eighty meters away.

"Damn it!" Kiba cursed, looking at Shino, who met his gaze. "I had no idea he even took off!"

"Let's go see what he's up to," Shino replied. With that said, Kiba nodded and took off towards the forest, with Shino following closely behind.

---

The two boys reached the edge of the forest, and both turned their heads this way and that in search of the small dog.

"AKAMARU!!!" Kiba shouted into the trees, with no reply from his dog this time. He furrowed his brow and sniffed the air, trying to catch the scent of Akamaru.

Shino walked ahead of his friend, calmly scanning his eyes through the forest to try and detect movement. Nothing.

Kiba sighed, and followed Shino. "What the hell's gotten into him?" He wondered aloud.

Shino shrugged, slowing down his pace near the base of a large tree. Kiba closed his eyes momentarily and strained his ears to hear any sounds in the forest. He heard nothing besides the leaves above them flutter in the breeze, and the sound of Shino's footsteps stopping altogether.

"Hey."

Kiba blinked his eyes open and swivelled his head to stare at Shino, who stared back at him from the tree. "What is it?"

"Erm, I want to tell you something."

Something in Kiba's stomach stirred at the sudden and unusual change in his friend's behaviour, and he walked towards him. "What's wrong?"

Shino hesitantly raised an arm and pinched Kiba's sleeve, tugging the other boy towards him. Kiba's eyes shot open and locked on Shino's sunglasses, his eyes unreadable. Kiba followed Shino's pull and stepped as close to the other boy as he could, his nerves making him quiver. "Shino, seriously, you're freaking me out..."

"Really?" Shino said quietly, no longer pulling on but still gripping Kiba's sleeve.

"Shino..." Kiba murmered, trying to read Shino's intentions on his face. As Kiba focused on trying to read Shino's mind, Shino leaned in towards Kiba slightly.

"I... uh..." Shino murmered, breathing deeply in attempt to gather his nerves. Kiba slowly inhaled the scent of Shino's breath, and impulsively leaned in and pressed his lips against Shino's.

As if they were magnetized, Shino pressed his own lips into Kiba's as well, the initial worry of trying to initiate the kiss himself disappear. His grip on Kiba's sleeve softened and his hand trailed upwards to snake around Kiba's neck, drawing him closer.

Kiba reacted to Shino's move by sliding his own hands behind the other boy and bringing him into an embrace. Carried away with the initial adrenaline rush of kissing his friend, Kiba nipped at Shino's lower lip, drawing a sharp exhale from him.

"N-nn..." Shino breathed, his cheeks flushed and lips only lightly resting on Kiba's at this point.

Kiba slowly nudged Shino's nose with his own and stared overtop of his friends dark lenses for a moment. Shino stared back calmly.

"Bark!"

Both boys' eyes' quickly went from only half open, to wide open and alert at the sound of Akamaru.

"Aru?" Akamaru called, his voice seemingly coming from above. Shino and Kiba both looked up, only to see Akamaru tilting his head curiously at the two from a low hanging branch. Akamaru tiled his head the other way, curious towards the lingering closeness of his owner and Shino below.

Shino lowered his arms from Kiba's neck, as Kiba raised his own arms upwards towards the branch. "Jump, you idiot!" Kiba called.

"Grrr," Akamaru protested, but jumping into his owners arms nonetheless. Kiba gingerly caught Akamaru in his arms. Shino continued looking upwards, trying to figure out why the dog was up there in the first place and how long he had been watching.

"You had me worried for a while, Akamaru!" Kiba said, scratching Akamaru's back. Akamaru panted back as Kiba lifted his gaze to Shino's, both pairs of eyes questioning. "Did you know he was up there?" Kiba asked.

"To be honest, no," Shino replied, raising both eyebrows as he looked down towards the dog, who was happily wagging his tail in his owners arms.

Kiba snickered and shook his head at the whole situation. "Well, anyways, now that we found Akamaru," Kiba said, pausing for a moment to stare at Shino, who stared back. "Let's go get some food!" Kiba announced, leading the way out of the forest. Shino smiled and sighed, following Kiba out of the trees.

They never did figure out why Akamaru took off in the first place.

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A/N: Oh man, I told you it was fluffy. In any case, please review if you feel so inclined. Thank you!


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